The Double Date Dilemma
by Usako0214
Summary: Life was nice and romance-free for Darien...until the day he gets talked into going on a double date with Serena. Life for Darien is about to become much more complicated...Season 1 Serena/Darien
1. Chapter 1

Humans are absolutely amazing creatures

Humans are absolutely amazing creatures. We go through everyday life thinking we know it all, that we're in complete control of our destinies…until that one day when something happens that knocks us on our asses. Suddenly we don't know who, what when, where, why, or how. But when the dust settles, we're wiser than before. That little epiphany has changed our lives forever. In my case the change was for the better.

I was your stereotypical workaholic college student. Only one friend, no free time, and an uncomplicated romance-free life, I was content…until that day in the arcade…

The day started off like any other. I woke up, studied, dressed, studied some more, went to class, studied a little bit more after class, and then headed off to the arcade for some much needed coffee before I hit the books again.

After entering the crowded arcade I greeted Andrew as usual, sat in my usual seat, and had my usual cup of black coffee. But to say that there was nothing particularly peculiar about that day would be a lie. Sitting in the booth next to me was Serena, her hair done up in the familiar pigtails. However, it didn't take a genius to figure out that something was troubling her. Rather than being bright and bubbly like she normally was, the blonde's shoulders sagged, a frown etched on her face. Silently she swirled her melted ice cream with a spoon, obviously not enthusiastic about eating it, which was highly unusual for her.

"Why the long face, Meatball Head? Did you fail another test?" I teased, hoping to get a rise out of her or at least a reply, anything to get that frown off her face. However, my hopes were dashed; she said absolutely nothing, still intent on swirling the soupy liquid that had once been ice cream.

Across the counter, Andrew gave me a puzzled look. He had obviously been watching the whole scene.

"She's been like that since she came in," Andrew whispered. "Any ideas on what's wrong?"

"Not a clue. I didn't do anything if that's what you're thinking." I retorted.

"I'll go talk to her," he replied. Putting his rag down, Andrew walked over to the blonde.

"What's the matter, Serena? Has Darien been teasing you again?" I suddenly got the feeling that Andrew wasn't going to believe me no matter what I said. Scoffing, I turned back to my coffee. Of course he was going to try to find a way to blame me for Serena being upset.

"No," Serena replied, obviously puzzled.

"Then why the frown?" Andrew inquired.

Serena finally looked up from her ice cream into Andrew's inquisitive face, her eyes slightly misted.

"You promise you won't laugh?" Serena asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. Cross my heart and spit on the floor."

"Well, Raye's supposed to be going on a date with Chad, but Chad wanted me to come as well," she explained.

"So, what's wrong with that?"

"Well, it's kind of a package deal. You see, Chad has wanted to set up a double date; he could be with Raye and I could be with my boyfriend, but the problem is that I don't have a boyfriend! " she confessed.

"So tell him that," Andrew suggested.

"I tried that, but stupid Raye had to open her big, fat mouth; she kept teasing me about having a secret boyfriend, so now Chad thinks I have this secret guy I've been hiding all this time, and now I'm supposed to show up to this double date thing with a date that doesn't exist!" she exclaimed. "And what makes it worse is that I can't just show up without a date because then I'll feel like I'm intruding on their time together, but then again I can't just not show up because then I'll let them down. What am I going to do, Andrew?"

To say that Serena looked pitiful in that moment would be an understatement. Her eyes pleaded with Andrew, the azure blue orbs slowly leaking tears. It was enough to melt any man's heart. Quickly I looked away. Like her lack of a boyfriend was any of my concern. 'Focus, Chiba,' I told myself. 'You've got much more important things to worry about…like finding your princess…'

"At this point there's no way I can find a guy to pose as my date before Friday. I wonder if Raye would believe me if I said I was sick…or maybe I could say that I'm too busy studying for the entrance exams," she suggested. "…Nah, she'd never believe that one."

For several minutes they tossed ideas back and forth, each one becoming increasingly more ridiculous than the last.

"Wait, wait, here's a good one," Andrew joked. "Maybe you could show up with Darien as your date!" At this, the two of them burst into insane laughter, and for the first time, a smile played upon Serena's lips.

"Oh yeah, aren't you guys mature." I sneered back at them.

"Yeah right, that would never happen!" Serena cackled. "Anyway, thanks for the laugh, Andrew. I really needed it, but I gotta go now. My mother's making her awesome curry tonight. I wouldn't miss it for the world. See ya!"

With a bounce and a smile, she was out the door. I shook my head.

"God help the poor soul who tries to get between Serena and her food. Right, Andrew?" I meant the comment to be a joke, but when I looked over at Andrew, he was doing anything but smiling.

"That wasn't a joke, by the way," Andrew declared.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"Her taking you on the date," he said simply.

"WHAT?! Are you out of your mind? Please tell me, this is a joke, right?" I exclaimed.

"Not a joke at all. I think you should be her date friday night," he said in complete earnest.

I sat there for the longest time simply flabbergasted. I had known Andrew since childhood; there was no possible was he couldn't have known that I couldn't stand the girl. Yet here he was, pushing me to ask her out.

"No way, not happening," I announced to him. "This is just another one of your stupid matchmaker attempts. I'll never forget what happened last time. What was that chick's name?"

"Laura, I believe," he conceded.

"Yeah, what a disaster that was! She spent the whole time showing me off to all of her friends and bragging about how we had gone all the way that night. It never happened! I'm not going to be some female's boy toy, Andrew. I'm not interested in dating right now. I've got too much other stuff going on in my life at the moment," I contended.

"You know, Darien, that's going to be the story of your entire life. You'll be ninety years old and still a bachelor because you didn't have time to date."

I rolled my eyes. There was no possible way Andrew would ever understand the responsibilities I had to contend with. It wasn't easy being Tuxedo Mask.

"I saw the way you were looking at her today, Darien. What do you think gave me the idea of having her go on this double date with you? She's a great girl. Truth be told, if it weren't for the fact that I'm with Rita, I'd date her in a heartbeat. She's kind, loving, and has a great heart. So what if she isn't the best in school? Give her a chance, Darien. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out," Andrew insisted. "Plus, I think you're secretly intrigued by her because she's everything you're not. She's just what you need, in my opinion. Too often you choose the boring women who enjoy all the same things that you do. So what do you end up doing? Debating what the whale was supposed to represent in _Moby Dick. _How boring! No wonder you hate dating!"

"For your information, we do not debate _Moby Dick_!" I retorted

"Fine, _Great Expectations_, whatever…"

I shot him a glare.

"Come on. It's just one night. What harm could it do?" Andrew observed.

"Will you leave me alone if I do it?" I asked.

"Absolutely," he replied, positively beaming.

"Fine, I'll ask her tomorrow, but don't be surprised when she refuses, agreed?"

"Agreed."

And as I sat there looking at Andrew's smirking face, I began to wonder what on earth I had gotten myself into.


	2. Chapter 2

"Please, the silver crystal. I need the silver crystal..."

I awoke from the dream like I always did, tired and confused. Every night I dreamt of her, the beautiful princess who begged me to find the silver crystal, but still I was no closer to finding the crystal.

'Who is she?' I wondered to myself, slowly getting up out of bed. Even though I had slept a full eight hours, I still felt pretty tired, which was usually the case on the nights when I dreamt of her. Unfortunately, this was becoming more and more frequent of late.

After picking my clothes out for the day and laying them on the bed, I made my way to the bathroom for a nice, hot shower, only to catch a reflection of myself in the mirror.

"You look awful," I told myself. With my hair sticking out in every direction and large bags under my eyes, I really did look like a train wreck.

Shaking my head, I got into the shower, letting the hot water flow down my body, all the while wondering how I was going to breach the double date topic with Serena. I couldn't just go up to her and say, "Hey Serena, want to go on this double date with me?" I mean, come on, it's not like I was terribly interested in her. I was just doing this as a friend. Call it a truce between us.

'Yeah, a truce,' I thought to myself. 'That's how I'll go about asking her.'

"4:17. I swear that girl would be late to her own funeral," I observed, a bit miffed that she hadn't shown up yet. After all, I was doing her a favor.

"What are you waiting on, Darien? Or should I ask, who are you waiting on?" Andrew slyly asked, giving me a wide, knowing grin. I shot him a glare. I seemed to be doing that quite a bit lately.

"On a more serious note, though, why did you decide to go through with this?" he asked.

"I don't know. Some of what you said made sense. I mean, if I don't do this I'll be sitting in my apartment, by myself, doing nothing but studying," I replied.

"And?" Andrew prompted.

"And what?" I asked.

"Why else did you agree to this?" he asked, obviously hinting at something.

"Well...I thought...maybe this is a chance at a ceasefire between us," I proposed, but Andrew just rolled his eyes "That's not what I'm talking about, Darien. God, you're thick!" Andrew exclaimed. "Admit it; you like Serena. Why else would you ask her out?"

"Andrew, you're making something out of nothing. I'm doing this as a ifavor/i, nothing more, nothing less. This idoes not/i mean that I like Serena in that way. She's four years younger than me!" I barked back.

"What is age in the midst of true love?" Andrew cried, much to my irritation. It wasn't enough that he got me into this mess, but now he had to insinuate that I harbored feelings for the Meatball Head. Give me a break. She was just some fourteen-year-old girl that I knew...It's not like I icould/i like her in that way.

"Um, Darien? Are you okay?" I was broken out of my reverie by the Meatball Head herself.

"Uh, yeah," I said, shaking my head slightly in an effort to clear my thoughts. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" I glanced over at Andrew and, catching his gloating smirk, made sure to add, "Outside, please?"

"Uh, yeah...sure...okay," she said, understandably confused as to why I would want to speak with her in private.

Once outside the arcade doors, I led her to the shade of a tree in the nearby park, making doubly sure I was out of earshot.

"Darien, what is this about?" she asked, sounding slightly irritated.

I turned around to face her, unsure how to phrase my question. "I was wondering..." I started, my hands slick with sweat as I struggled to find the right words.

"I was wondering...if you found someone to go with you Friday night...because if you haven't...I'd...I'd be willing to go with you," I said, hoping she wouldn't burst out laughing right then and there.

But instead of laughing, she just stood there, confusion written on her face. I thought maybe for a second that she hadn't heard me, so I began to repeat myself, making sure to speak a little louder this time.

"I was wondering if you-"

"I heard you," she said quietly, suddenly very interested in the grass at her feet. She stood there for several moments not speaking, intent on the little trenches she was digging with her feet. I had the feeling that she wasn't terribly excited about the whole idea of going with me. I shrugged to myself. Oh well, hadn't I told Andrew that she wouldn't go for it?

"Why, Darien?" she asked, still intent on the ground.

"Why what?" I asked.

"Why are you doing this, Darien?" she cried, finally looking up at me. "You know, I'm really getting tired of this. I know why you want to go with me; this is just another way for you to humiliate me. Don't you ever tire of making fun of me all the time, calling me names?"

"Whoa Serena, you've got it all wrong. I'm not doing this to humiliate you, if anything I'm trying to do just the opposite. Look, I've got nothing to do Friday night, so I figured I'd help you out a little...as a friend of course."

"You mean it?" she asked sheepishly.

"Yeah, I mean it" I replied, giving her an encouraging smile.

It was then that she finally smiled, the first one I had seen since that day in the arcade.

"Oh wow, this is great! I gotta tell Raye...Oh and don't worry, you won't have to act like my boyfriend or anything. I'll just tell them that you're a friend of mine..." she cried, obviously pleased that she now had someone to go with her.

"So, do we have a truce, Meatball Head?" I asked, extending my hand.

She shot me a playful glare before shaking my proffered hand.

"Truce," she said with a small smile.

"So she accepted, huh?" Andrew stated, his eyebrows raised and a stupid grin plastered on his face. He had called me late that night, demanding that I meet him at the arcade after he closed the place. All this just so he could learn Serena's answer.

"Yeah, I was really surprised. I thought surely she was going to throw her shoe at me or something, all the while yelling 'Never in a million years!'," I joked.

"But she didn't..."

I looked up, suddenly aware of what was going on. "You're implying something, Andrew. What is it?"

"There's hope yet," was all he said.

"Whatever," I muttered, rolling my eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"Someday you'll understand what I'm implying; you're just too blind at the moment to see the truth," Andrew asserted, getting up from his chair. "Anyway, it's getting late and I have to work tomorrow. I'll see ya!"

And with that, Andrew gathered his things and left the arcade. I suddenly found myself alone in the darkened building, wishing I understood what it was Andrew had been implying... 


	3. Chapter 3

So everything for this non-date is going well...until Darien makes the boldest statement of his life. Could his feelings towards Serena be changing?

"What time is it?" I wondered absently as I gently massaged my stiff neck. I'd been at the library so long studying that I had completely lost track of time. Turning my wrist over to check my watch, I let out a small cry of surprise.

_11 o'clock at night. _No wonder the librarian at the front desk kept giving me evil "go to hell" looks. Quickly I packed away my things and left.

The air around me was cool, but not unpleasantly so as I exited through the library's automatic doors. Lifting my head upward, I closed my eyes, taking in the cool night air. It would be a long walk home, and I wouldn't get to bed until late, but I didn't mind. At least it would be a pleasant walk.

With my hands in my pockets, I started my journey, allowing my thoughts to wander to the events that had transgressed over the course of the day. I still wasn't sure what Andrew meant about me liking Serena, but I had to admit one thing: The idea of spending Friday night with Serena wasn't entirely repulsive to me.

"...Just as a friend of course..." I reminded myself, "Nothing to get excited about. This is just a way to try and patch things up between us."

But as I told myself that, Andrew's stupid voice kept popping into my head.

_"Admit it; you like Serena. Why else would you ask her out?"_

It wasn't that I liked her or anything. I was just tired of the ridiculous bickering we did all the time. It got old after the one billionth time.

"Stupid Andrew," I spat.

But as a continued on my walk home, I suddenly realized that I hadn't been paying attention at all to where I was going. The streets were dark and unfamiliar to me.

_Shit._

Mentally cursing myself, I looked around desperately for something familiar, something to point me in the right direction, but all I found was a sea of perfectly manicured lawns...great...a typical upscale neighborhood.

"Oh well, I guess I had better get this over with..." I said, mentally preparing myself to do what no man likes to do...ask for directions.

I resolved to knock on the first lit house I came to, but as I approached it something caught my eye. There, in the second floor window was...Serena! She sat by her window, obviously writing something down in a notebook, her silky, golden hair framing her pale face as she worked. Every now and then she'd look up, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight as she propped her chin on her hands. She looked so serene, so dreamlike that part of me wondered if my mind was deceiving me and it was an angel instead that I was seeing... but then again, there was no mistaking those meatballs; It was most definitely Serena. I wasn't sure how long I stared up at her...maybe it was only a few minutes, maybe it was longer. All I knew is in that very moment she absolutely captivated me...

My idea to knock on the Tsukino's door completely forgotten, I watched Serena from the street until finally she left her window, turned off her light, and went to bed. Suddenly the thought occurred to me of how much I must have appeared to be some sort of stalker or something. I took a quick look around and, satisfied that no one was watching me, I left.

I wasn't quite sure how I found my way home that night, but eventually I did manage to find the way back to my apartment...Needless to say, I had my mind on other things...

Like how beautiful Serena looked in the moonlight.

"But wait a minute," I thought to myself, "maybe it really wasn't Serena...Maybe it was just all this stupid double date crap that made me think it was her, or maybe it was just a trick of the moonlight or something"

Yeah, that was it. That must've been it. After all, I'd never seen where she lived; I wasn't even sure that it was in this neighborhood. Besides, this was Serena I was talking about. Ditzy, whiny, crybaby Serena. There was no way it could have been her.

I went to bed that night, wholeheartedly convinced that what I saw was a figment of my imagination, nothing more.

And when I awoke in the morning, it seemed like those thoughts were confirmed. On the way to class, I spotted Serena herself sprinting across the nearby park, late for class as usual. I opened my mouth to ask her if she was ever on time to anything, but I quickly stopped myself. After all, I told Serena that this whole double date thing was going to mean a truce between us, and I pride myself on being a man of my word...Although you have no idea how hard it was to resist the temptation.

"Oh, hey Darien!"

At the sound of my name, I turned to see Serena running up to me, her eyes bright and her cheeks red from her morning run.

"W...Would you...be able to..." she huffed, "pick me up from my house at 5 o'clock?"

Oh crap. That was tonight. I hadn't even thought about it, my mind was so cluttered.

"Uh, yeah. Sure..." I replied.

"Oh, thank you so much...And don't worry, there's no pressure on you to act like a boyfriend or anything," Serena said, waving her hand in dismissal. "Raye already knows about the whole thing, and she's promised to keep her mouth shut...Let's just hope she's not pulling a fast one on me though." Serena looked up at me, giving me a wide smile so typical of her. How ironic that I would be the one making her smile I thought.

"Oh, no! Is that really the time?" Serena asked frantically. "I gotta go. I'll see you tonight!" Quickly she shoved a piece of pink stationary into my hand on which was scrawled in big letters what must have been her address. Hmph. Now that was typical. Drawn in the right-hand corner of the paper was a kawaii-style bunny face. Give me a break, how girly can a girl get?

"Thanks, meat--"

But she was already gone, which was probably for the better. What can I say? Old habits die hard.

It was mocking me. _It was mocking me, I tell you. _That damned bunny stared up at me from that pink, sickeningly feminine paper with its ridiculously wide smile in absolute mockery of me. It was 4:00 in the afternoon, only an hour before I had to pick Serena up from her house, and I'd gotten my first jolt of pre-date nerves.

Except I never_ get _pre-date nerves. I'd gone out on plenty of dates before, and never in my entire dating career had I _ever _gotten the jitters beforehand. Women have just never been a problem for me.

"Wait…wait. Pre-_date_ nerves? This isn't a date, Chiba," I mentally scolded myself. I'm just helping Serena out. That's all.

"Okay. What to wear? What to wear?" I asked myself as I opened my closet door and started rummaging around. Just then the thought struck me that I had no clue where we were going. Serena could have been taking me to Alaska for all I knew. So should I go casual or formal? I cringed, suddenly envisioning myself dressed in a tux at a bowling alley. Yeesh!

Opting for something in the middle, I picked out a clean pair of khaki pants and a blue button up shirt. I checked my watch.

4:30.

Taking one last look in the mirror I departed for Serena's house, curious as to how her father was going to receive me.

Unfortunately for me, I had grossly underestimated the time it was going to take to get to her house. In only five minutes flat my mustang's engine sat idling in the Tsukino resident's driveway. Great. It's not like I could just sit there for the next 35 minutes and wait for her to come out. I was going to have to ring the doorbell.

Now, there's something you must understand. Serena's father was a legend in Tokyo for being the ultimate overprotective father. He would stop at absolutely nothing to make sure no male ever even came close to touching his beloved princess. No wonder the girl had never had a boyfriend before. You see my dilemma now.

Either way though, I was going to have to suck it up and ring the doorbell. Taking a deep breath, I climbed out of my car and trudged my way up the steps to the front door, but I didn't even make it the door, when it suddenly opened. There stood Serena's mother in a blue dress and apron, her face positively beaming up at me.

"Why hello, you must be Darien," she kindly said to me, leading me through the door.

The house itself was quaint and homely. Small knickknacks covered every table, and no sofa was without a blanket on its back. Family pictures decorated any and all the walls. To some it might have seemed cluttered, but there was a warmth about it that permeated every corner. It was obvious to any who entered that this was a loving family. Just the kind of family I'd expect Serena to be a part of.

"Serena's still getting ready, so if you don't mind sitting at the table for awhile..." Serena's mother began.

"Sure," I said, helping myself to a seat at the dinner table. Mrs. Tsukino took a seat opposite of me, both of us obviously unsure of what to say.

"So, are you one of Serena's classmates?" she asked, the skepticism behind the statement poorly hidden.

"No actually, I'm a college student here at Tokyo University," I replied.

"Oh...What's your major?" She asked, concern for her fourteen-year-old daughter written on her face.

"Pre-med."

"Oh! How wonderful!" Her eyes lit up, the concern immediately wiped away. I could see the fantasies forming in her mind of her daughter in a beautiful white dress, preparing to marry the man of her _mother's_ dreams--the wealthy doctor. Great. Just what I needed, a hopeful mother.

"D-Darien…You're here early."

Serena stood at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in a simple, yet effective, white sundress. The waist was cut high, with delicate lace falling gracefully around her shoulders and low neckline. She was…stunning to say the least.

"Well, you two had better head off if you want to be there on time," Mrs. Tsukino said with a bright smile, quickly leading us towards the door. She was liking my pre-med status a little too much for my taste.

I looked down at my watch. It was only 4:45.

"What's the big rush," I asked Serena once we were out of earshot of her mother.

"Dad…He doesn't know that I'm going out on a da-…an outing tonight. Mother thought it was best if he didn't know," she explained.

"Oh," I said, giving a slight chuckle. "That was probably for the best I guess. I'd be pretty hard to explain to your dad."

"Tell me about it!"

"So where are we going anyway?" I asked as we got in the car and started the car.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot to tell you. We're supposed to be meeting them at _The Rose Café_. It's just a few blocks from the arcade," she responded.

"Yeah, I know the place," I replied. I'd heard about it from Andrew a couple times. Apparently he and Rita had been there several times and loved the food there. Well, at least I knew I was dressed appropriately.

We fell silent after that, neither really knowing what to talk about. She sat in the passenger's seat, quietly chewing on her lower lip. Every now and then she'd look up at me as if she wanted to say something.

"Darien…"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Thank you."

She said the words so quietly that I almost didn't hear her. But when I looked over into her azure blue eyes, I saw such sincerity etched in them that it took me off guard. To tell the truth a few days ago, I would never have believed that she was capable of saying anything other than an insult to me…But then again I guess the same could have been said of me as well. But here we were, being completely civil…no, better than just civil. We were being…_nice _to each other. It was mindboggling.

"You'll want to turn here if you want parking," Serena remarked.

"Oh, thanks," I said, coming out of my reverie. I pulled into the little parking lot, quarters in hand for the parking meter. Unfortunately, this place was in the heart of downtown, and parking was hard to come by. I had no choice but to park in a metered lot. I pulled out my special stash of quarters and proceeded to load the meter…or so I thought. I probably wasted three dollars in coins before I realized that the meter wasn't registering them. Brilliant. I was half tempted to kick the damn thing, but thought better of it. The last thing I needed was a broken foot.

"Hey Serena, do they usually write parking tickets at this time of day?" I asked.

"Um, I've never seen them, but…"

"Good, then I'll just take my chances," I resolved. After all, it's not like I didn't _try_ to pay the meter.

"Hey Serena!"

I looked up just in time to see Raye and Chad pull up, both of them smiling and waving as they got out. But as I locked eyes with Chad, I instantly knew something was wrong. Surprise was written all over his face.

"Well, well, well Serena. You finally found yourself a boyfriend. It's about time. I was starting to think you'd never get one," Chad declared. How typical. Chad it seemed was one of those tactless guys that gives the rest of us a bad name.

Serena began chewing her lower lip again, sharing furtive looks with her best friend. Raye obviously had not informed Chad about my not being Serena's boyfriend.

"Chad, Darien's not—" Raye began, but I cut her off.

"Her boyfriend anymore, so you don't have to worry about there being anything between us…I'm Serena's boyfriend now."


End file.
